A new abode

We moved into our new apartment in Kirribilli on Friday, with a surprisingly minimal amount of fuss and hassle (perhaps because I went to work while K did it all!) By mid Fri evening we were fully unpacked (although we have some more stuff arriving during the week from storage) and so it's been a relaxing weekend of sorting out to do lists, browsing the local area and doing the things you do on weekends anywhere.

Kirribilli has a real village feel to it, which is a bit of a new one for me as I've not really experienced that before. It's a bit like a mini-Stockbridge in Edinburgh, whereas I've been an East End/Leith girl for years! Anyway, it's good to do something different and I quite like it so far - I'm writing this at the local neighbourhood centre where there's also a small library and various community classes (yoga, pilates, parent & toddler classes, that kind of thing). The highlight of the area so far is the Kirribilli Deli, which is a foodie's delight - stacks of cheeses, olives, specialist oils, homemade lasagnes, cakes, breads, the lot. Mmmmm...Even better, it also has all of the things you'd expect to find in any small supermarket (loo roll, laundry powder, a mini screwdriver set - my shopping list yesterday!)

Pics will appear soon of our Opera House view - it's fantastic and I love waking up in the morning to the sight of the CBD and the harbour - WOW!

Apart from moving, I also started one of my new jobs last week, just part-time to begin with while I finish up my temp job, but really good to get into it and to be back in social enterprise-land. Home at last!

Other things we've been doing...

Went to our second Sydney FC match on Saturday evening with K's friend Fraser and his family. 12,000+ crowd which was quite decent, and a good game made even better by a last-kick-of-the-game equaliser for Sydney - found myself leaping out of my seat to celebrate! Funny how loyalties can be born so quickly!

Last weekend was fun too. On Saturday night we went to the Opera House to see flamenco ballet, which was amazing. We were in the main concert hall, a very impressive space indeed. And the dancing was absolutely brilliant. I was mesmerised for the whole 2 hours. See this clip for a flavour of the Sara Baras Flamenco Ballet company.

Then on Sunday we went to the "Taste Orange" wine & food festival at Bondi Beach. It was an absolute scorcher of a day, 30+, when we arrived and really too hot to be in the midday sun drinking wine. We went off for some lunch and by the time I was halfway through my greek salad, one of Sydney's famous "Southerlies" had blown in, the temperature had dropped about 10 degrees and we all had to take refuge inside from the gusts of wind blowing tables and chairs over! I'd been told about this phenomenon but it was bizarre to experience it. Luckily, when we returned to the wine festival, we found half of it in shelter so were able to relax and enjoy a few samples of Orange region wine in comfort! It's such a hard life sometimes (!)